We Prefer to Call Ourselves 'Free Traders'
by Sealiman Dawntracker
Summary: 7th Sea Roleplaying Game Crossover. A Piraty story in which the Riders see the world, and join the crew of the Grace of Theus as she sails from Berk to the mainland, Adventures await. Arr! All 7th Sea elements will be explained fully.
1. Chapter 1: Battle Beyond the Edge

Astrid's day had gone from bad to worse rather quickly. She and the other Dragon Riders had set out from Dragon's Edge to intercept Viggo's main ship, the one with him and Riker aboard. They'd found it alright, and flown straight into a trap.

Heather had been downed by a flight of Dragon-root arrows before her first pass, and soon the other Riders had fallen to the deck, just before he was dragged below Hiccup had managed to yell to her to "Go to Berk! Get help!".

So here she was, miles from land, the heat of the midday sun bearing down upon her, and nothing but the sea… wait, what was that?

She peered out over Stormfly's back and saw a ship, didn't look Dragon Hunter, or Bezerker. "Maybe they'll help me get the others back!" Astrid spoke aloud, normally she would have kept flying… but this was an emergency situation!

She flew over the ship, the crew seemed transfixed on Stormfly, some in fear, some in awe… "Well, here goes nothing." She muttered.

She flew down and dropped onto the deck, sailors scampering out of her way, when they pointed spears at her she began to think that this wasn't such a good idea…

"Put those away laddies!" shouted a gruff voice "Don't you see the lady ridin' 'er! Make room, make room! Let the lass off!" Quickly the sailors dropped their spears and stood back so Astrid could dismount.

Pleased at this turn of events Astrid swung off Stormfly and thudded onto the deck, she looked up and saw the source of the gruff voice. A sea-tanned man with a bushy orange beard, flowing orange hair, and wearing a massive coat, sword, several things she couldn't identify… oh, and an _extravagant_ hat.

The man looked at her with kind eyes and stuck out his hand for her to shake, she did so. "Well, what brings such a lass as yerself to me humble ship." Said the man, she noticed several crew snickering when he said 'humble'.

Her smile turned upside down when she remembered why she was here. "My friends were kidnapped by Dragon Hunters, please I need help saving them!"

The man's expression changed like lighting, and just as she was sure she was about to be attacked the man belted out a command "Full sail! Prepare all guns, come on lads!"

Then turning to her he said "Which way lass?"

Almost shocked beyond words that she was actually getting help, Astrid pointed in the direction she had come from and said "About an hour that way."

The man shook his head affirmative and motioned for her to follow him, she cautiously did so.

The man walked up several stairs near the back of the ship, which Astrid only now began to realize was the largest she'd ever been on, even larger than Viggo's ships, by a lot. Anyway, the man walked over to a great wheel and began to spin it.

Astrid was about to ask what in Thor's name he was doing when she realized that whatever direction the man turned the wheel in, the ship turned in the opposite direction!

"Well that beats a tiller." She mumbled, the Captains smile showed he'd heard her.

It took less than an hour for the massive ship to catch up with Viggo's.

The captain was looking out what appeared to be a much improved version of Hiccup's spyglass and said "That's it lads, we've got 'im!"

Astrid saw the crew preparing for battle, pulling curved swords out of trunks and picking up strange devices… "Um', excuse me." Astrid said to a crewmember.

"Aye?" the man replied

"What's this?" she picked up one of the strange devices, looking for all intensive purposes to be a long crossbow stock with a metal barrel, and no bow.

The crewmember adopted a panicked expression and pushed the barrel, pointing at her head, in a different direction. Saying "That there be a musket m'lady, don't ye know of 'im?"

Just as Astrid was about to ask him what in Thor's name a musket was. The Captain belted out a massive "Prepare to board!"

She took her place alongside the Sailors with their strange devices, and just before she thought she could leap the gap massive booms rang out from below, and to her gawking amazement she could see holes being blown in the Dragon Hunter's ship.

Then she realized that there were more bangs, smaller ones, coming from beside her. She looked to her left and saw the sailor she talked to point the barrel of his device at a Dragon Hunter lining up an arrow and pulling a small metal switch back, the whole device rocked as a bit of flame shot up from the other side, and the Dragon hunter fell dead.

Before she could express her amazement she saw the captain swing across to the Dragon Hunter ship on a rope yelling "Haha!"

Soon more ropes were swung across and one was pushed into Astrid's hands, by the time she swung across there was little to do, half the Dragon Hunters were dead or…well, dead. The rest soon to join them.

Stepping over Viggo's unmoving body she was about to try and figure out what just happened, when the captain came over and asked "Now where's yer friends?"

She mentally slapped herself, forgetting why she had found these people in the first place.

She led the captain and five sailors below. "What's yer friends names? So we can yell for im." Asked the captain.

"Our leaders named Hiccup." The group stopped and the captain looked at her strangely.

"No really" she said, the captain shrugged and the seven of them began yelling for the other Riders.

They rounded a corner and the captain walked forward, looked to his left and shouted "Found em'!" Everyone else ran over, and saw six people in a dragon cage, all giving the Captain the evil eye… at least until they saw Astrid, then they just looked confused.

"Astrid?" asked Heather "What's going on?"

"I found these people at sea" said Astrid "They're here to help me get all of you back."

"Wait" said Fishlegs "Where are the Dragon Hunters?"

"Dead" answered the Captain

Silence reigned before the Captain said "Hold on mates" and he, the five sailors, and Astrid pried the gate open.

The other riders walked cautiously out, though Hiccup fell over when he tried to stand.

"Hiccup, what happened?!" asked Astrid, immediately at Hiccup's side.

"I think I sprained something in the fall." Said Hiccup, so the Captain walked over and helped Astrid lift Hiccup to his feet and get him up the steps to the other ship.

All they heard from below was Fishlegs say "They're, Dragons." And one of the crew say "That's what I said, Drachen!"

Once upon deck Hiccup took in the carnage, Hiccup looked sadly at Viggo's corpse, as he hated any loss of life, before crossing over to the other ship.

Once all Dragons and Riders were upon the crews ship the captain was handed a long cord that looped down into the Dragon Hunter vessel, they all looked on with curiosity as he lit the end and the fire sped along the cord getting out of sight rather quickly, a few more moments went by before a massive explosion blasted out of the water in front of them, and the Dragon Hunter ship sank to the bottom of the sea.

Every Rider and Dragon's jaws were hanging open, then the captain yelled "Alright lads, set sail!" and the crew rushed to obey.

The captain walked over towards the group as Astrid finished telling them what had happened, and said "I don't believe we've been properly introduced, I'm Captain Scott O'Dunhan of the _Grace of Theus_. At your service."

They quickly listed off their names and Captain Scott then asked "Where are all of ye from, I can tell by yer reactions that ye've never seen blackpowder before, so it's got to be some place I've never been."

Before Hiccup got into a long and technical discussion (which he would do… eventually) Astrid said "We're from Berk, and um…Thanks?"

The Captain belted out a hearty laugh and said "Well, where's this Berk. We could do some business with people such as yerselves, and I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't take all of ye home."

Since Hiccup was too injured to fly that seemed like a good idea, and after a short discussion on which way to head the ship sailed off, to bring new wonders to an already wondrous people.


	2. Chapter 2: Home Sweet Berk

"Heave! Heave!" several men yelled while 'heaving' on a particularly large rope as Captain Scott talked with the Riders.

"Ye seem to be lookin like the old Vestenmennavenjar, though even those rascals have had powder for a hundred years now!" said Scott.

"The who's-a-what-a?" asked Heather

"The Vesten-men-naven-jar" said Scott, enunciating the word "This be north of even their lands however."

"So" asked Hiccup, changing the topic "Where are you from? And what do you do?"

"Well" said Scott "First question first, I'm from the Glamour Isles, the Highland Marches to be more precise. Me and the crew of the _Grace_ are what you might call 'Free Traders'"

"Pirates" coughed a nearby crewman

A few awkward moments passed until Scott growled "Phil!" beneath his breath and the sailor beat a hasty retreat.

"Well" said Captain Scott "Uh, you all don't seem too alarmed to be on a pirate ship?"

"Not really" said Hiccup "People think our people are as good as pirates most times and we've kinda gotten used to it."

"Well, then" said Scott "Pirates, free traders, call us what ya like!"

A momentary pause came before another sailor, female and clad in a revealing blouse and layered skirt, yet armed to the teeth. Came running up to Scott and said "We're on approach to an island Capt'n!"

"Thank you Abigale." Scott said, then turned back to the Dragon Riders, quickly turning back to the retreating woman and yelling "Abigale!"

The woman was instantly back in-front of them "Yes Capt'n!"

"At ease." Said Captain Scott, the woman visibly relaxing "Dragon Riders, this be Abigale Douglas of Carleon, me fine First Mistress (Female First Mate), also me wife."

The woman nodded and shook hands with the Dragon Riders saying "Pleasure to meet ya all." then turned to Captain Scott and said "Want me to call over the other officers, Capt'n?"

"Why, fine idea love!" exclaimed Scott and Abigale was soon collecting various well dressed men and another woman from around the ship, as Captain Scott said they would all meet in his Cabin.

The Dragon Riders entered a sumptuously adorned cabin at the rear of the ship, where there was a small door to a privy, a small door to a sleeping cubby, and a massive table taking up half the room, with huge glass windows framing the back of the room.

As soon as the riders came through one door, another door on the opposite end of the wall swung open and several people strutted in.

"Ah, me fine mates!" said Scott as the last officer to walk in closed the door.

One of the ship's officers, a large man wearing a dark blue coat and three-cornered hat, said "Captain, have we picked up some passengers? Or are they new recruits?"

"Neither, and both" said Scott before adding, addressing the Dragon Riders "This be James 'Earl' Jones, me navigator from Grinolet, in Avalon."

"Then we have Father Diego Andrea Roi de la Campeche" Scott paused to breathe while the man, dressed in all red with gold edging, and with an upside down Thor's hammer-like object dangling from his neck, pressed his palms together and bowed.

"We also have Adrian Friedrich Damaske, me Master-at-Arms from Wische, in ol' Eisen" The man looked a bit standoffish and dressed all in black. He gave the riders a curt nod.

"Mr. Ambroise de Toille, Ex-Musketeer from Montaigne, he be me Quartermaster." Referencing a man dressed in an almost sickeningly fancy coat and enormous blue hat.

"And finally Mrs. Angelina Gallili, from the country of Vodacce." The woman addressed wore a white shirt and tight black leather vest, her thin sword swinging at her hip.

Each seemed as polite as the next to meet the Dragon Riders, they all shook hands, laughed when Astrid kicked Snotlout for trying to show off his muscles, and seemed genuinely interested in the Dragons… except Adrian, who seemed a little afraid and angry at the "Drachen".

Before Hiccup could attempt to allay Adrian's fear and anger, a sailor came in and said "Cuse' me, me'lords and 'ladies but we be approchin land, and the ship headed towards us don't exactly look friendly."

All Hiccup did was to slap a hand to his face and whisper "Dad…"

Everyone got out onto the deck, where Stoick could be seen, with customary scowl, just pulling up alongside the ship.

"Who are ye!" yelled Stoick "And why are ya'll in Berkian waters!"

Just before Scott shouted back Hiccup yelled "Dad!"

"Hiccup!?" shouted Stoick, then resuming a furious demeanor shouting "Did you kidnap my son!"

Again preempting Scott, Hiccup shouted back "No, Dad! We're on here willingly! They just want to dock, then we'll all talk."

Stoick's fury drained away, he yelled back "Well alright! We'll lead you into the harbor."

Scott nodded, and Hiccup relayed that that was fine.

As Stoick's longship pulled out in front Scott said "You all seem like fine people, if you ever are seekin adventure, you got a spot here in me crew! Oh… by the way!"

Scott pulled something out of his coat, wrapped in paper.

"Me men found this on the other ship, with a note sayin keep away the Dragon Riders, believe it to be yours."

Hiccup received the item and unwrapped it to reveal… "The Dragon Eye! Thank's!"

Not focusing on the Dragon eye however, Astrid said "Excuse us." And pulled the other Riders into a huddle.

"What's up Astrid?" whispered Hiccup

"Are any of you thinking what I'm thinking?" she said

"No, not really… unless it's chicken based" said Tuffnut

Astrid sighed and said "I'm thinking we don't go back to Dragon's Edge, that we join Captain Scott's crew for a time, we'd have an adventure now that Viggo's toast."

Fishlegs gasped, Hiccup however seemed to be considering it and said "Why don't we talk to the Captain about how long we could join for before coming back."

"Captain Scott!" shouted Hiccup, breaking the huddle

"Aye, laddie!" said Scott

"If we decided to join your crew and see the world, how long before we could come home?" asked Hiccup

Captain Scott looked to be in thought for several seconds till he said "Bout' a year or two, then we could go too far places an back, wouldn't probably be longer than twenty- five months".

That seemed to be an acceptable length of time, and after nods from all of the other Riders Hiccup said "Well if my dad agrees, then we'll take you up on your offer!"

"Wonderful!" said Scott jubilantly

Will Stoick agree, however?


	3. Chapter 3: Free Traders

Docking, a rather easy concept… but in a cove made for shallow draft longships docking a Brigantine was rather harder than expected. In the end they gave up and used the ship's longboats to get to shore.

While the riders, except the wounded Hiccup, who was in the first boat, flew overhead three longboats made their way to the docks.

In the first boat was Scott, Abigale, Hiccup, and Toothless. The second boat held Earl, Adrian, Angelina, and three other crew who functioned as rowers. And in the third and final boat was Diego, and six ordinary sailors, the third boat also hauling some trading goods. The only officer not going ashore being Ambroise, who was given command of the _Grace_ for the time being.

Captain Scott was first to disembark, then followed by Abigale and Toothless, while the former two helped Hiccup out of the boat. By the time the other boats had disembarked Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout, and Gothi had just reached them with the Dragon Riders who flew ahead.

Stoick approached the group "Alright, my son said that the riders were all on your ship willingly, why?" cutting right to the chase.

"Well," said Captain Scott "There we were, sailin' in north-easterdly' direction when young Astrid flew down onto our ship, sayin her friends had been kidnapped by Dragon Hunters, so naturally we chased the brigands down and sent them to meet the Devil Jonah…" seeing incomprehension at 'The Devil Jonah' Captain Scott said "Means we sent them to bottom, anywho master Hiccup here was a tad wounded so we brought all the lads and lasses home, then we found you, and here we are!"

Stoick now seemed rather more relaxed and said "Well, any friend and savior of our children is a friend of ours."

"That be mighty kind of ye" said Scott "Master Hiccup also told us that we might be able to do some tradin' with yer village, and replenish our supplies."

"Well, alright" said Stoick "Lets see what you've got."

Scott smiled and two sailors manhandled a crate over in front of him, flipped the top off and Scott pulled out a long shimmery piece of fabric.

"Silk, straight from the Crescent Empire. We got's all colors and patterns. We also have some weapons, rum, books, and maps!"

Each item seemed to interest a different party, Hiccup and Fishlegs wanted Maps and books, Astrid, Stoick, Snotlout, Spitelout, and the Twins wanted weapons, while Gobber wanted the silk and rum.

After a few moments of clamoring Stoick said "Well, this is all very fine but we don't have much gold to pay with."

"Not a problem" Scott said "We're runnin' low on foodstuffs and could barter for what we've got"

Gobber meanwhile had picked up a blunderbuss and looking it over said "What's this?"

Captain Scott said "Tis a blunderbuss, kinda weapon. Here let me show ya."

Scott grabbed the blunderbuss and pointed it at an empty barrel, pulled the trigger and suddenly there was an explosion and what was left of the barrel was riddled with holes.

Stoick's jaw hung open, as did everyone's save Astrid's, who had seen the effect before.

"Gobber" Stoick said

"Yep" answered Gobber

"Get as much trading supplies and gold that you can gather, we NEED some of these!" Stoick said.

"Yep!" answered Gobber again, running off to gather supplies

Hiccup walked over and said "How does it work?"

Scott laughed and said "Ask Adrian, he's our gunsmith"

Adrian walked over and began to speak of how a flintlock worked, barrel to buttcap. Then about how black powder propelled the projectiles. And soon Stoick was even more sure that he needed some of these.

An hour passed as the village slowly trickled down and began perusing the goods, several dozen deals were made and at the end of the trading session the _Grace_ was once again fully provisioned.

Fishlegs was happier than ever before, he had purchased a virtual cornucopia of books, "From Cathay to Aztlan!" said Captain Scott, Hiccup had purchased a virtual atlas of maps, Astrid got a steel boarding axe, Snotlout and the twins each got a barrel of Gunpowder (Scott not realizing what a bad idea that was), and Stoick and Gobber got a musket each, as well as Gobber's silk.

Stoick decided that, for what the pirates… um, 'Free Traders' had done for the village, he would invite them to spend another few days on Berk. Seeing as the sun was going down, Scott thought that another day or three wouldn't hurt.

Scott, Earl, and Diego were being given a tour of the village while the other officers ashore finished up final transactions for the day. Hiccup was pointing out things of interest, the forge, the dragon stables, and the great hall. Finally they wound up at said great hall and Stoick was about to ask to ask them why they were so interested in Berk and the Dragons, when a large boom was heard and a smoke pillar seen coming from a nearby beach.

When Stoick, Hiccup, Scott, Earl, and Diego got there they found the twins and Snotlout covered in soot and laughing hysterically. "That…was…Awesome!" said Ruff.

"So I guess I shouldn't have sold them each a cask of powder, eh?" said Scott

"No, probably not." Said Hiccup, hand to his forehead

Since the twins had detonated their and Snotlout's powder kegs they really needed no further supervision, and the five went back to the great hall.

"Dad?" said Hiccup

"Yes" said Stoick

"Me and the other riders were wondering… and Captain Scott offered, well could we…" Hiccup said nervously

"Out with it" said Stoick

"We wanted to join their crew for a while, he said we could join for year or two, travel the world. And he'd bring us back. So what 'd you say?" finished Hiccup

Stoick had his lips pursed and said "I'm not sure, you seem like good people" referring to the three sailors "But we still hardly know you, and two years is quite some time. Let me sleep on it."

Since it wasn't a straight 'No' Hiccup and Scott were pleased, and the sailors went to get the rest of the _Grace_ 's crew to join in the feast in their honor.

The party was loud and raucous, lots of rum, sailor swearin', and even some dancing.

"Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum!" sang a clearly drunk Earl and three other sailors as they lifted their third mug of alcohol each, one sailor already asleep on the floor cuddling a chicken, who didn't seem too pleased.

This party went on till the wee hours of the morning, until everyone was either asleep or blind drunk, this if how Berk first learned how much sailors liked their liquor.


	4. Chapter 4: Signin' The Accord

**He Lives! Sorry I've been gone so long! I updated the first few chapters in some areas I thought I glossed over, no major changes. Thank you all for your patience and here you are!**

Morning came, Scott woke up with his hat on backwards and sticky rum residue gluing his face to the table he sat at, looking around he realized that on the whole island everybody seemed asleep, or from his crew, passed out.

The only four people still awake in the hall were Ruff, Tuff, Diego, and Earl all drunkenly singing 'Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest', and taking mighty swigs from a much depleted bottle of Rum.

Scott chuckled under his breath, he had actually fallen asleep, as he had a highly alcohol-resistant constitution, and thus was without a hangover.

It seemed no sooner than he awoke that Stoick came in and saw that Scott was the only one awake and lucid.

Stoick walked by the drunken four, shaking his head bemusedly, and sat down next to Scott, who had waited patiently for his arrival.

"So" said Stoick "I see you and your men had quite the night."

"Please tell me if they broke anythin', I'll pay to have it fixed." Said Scott, laughing

Stoick laughed and said "Hiccup came home last night and said he hadn't had this much fun in a long time, he hardly ever gives himself a chance to loosen up. So thank you, for savin' him and the other riders and given' him a good time."

"My pleasure" said Scott, then saying "Have you given any thought to me offer?"

"I have" said Stoick "Seeing you and your men under the conditions that would make them the least responsible, and being impressed by how responsible they were, I agree."

Scott laughed and slapped a hand on Stoick's shoulder.

"Well, once everyone is awake I'll spread the news, and help those riders get accustomed to the _Grace_ before we set sail." Said Scott

After a few minutes of talking with Stoick, Ambroise came in and told Scott that they needed some help loading supplies on the ship, as most of the crew were in a drunken stupor, so Stoick volunteered to alert the Dragon Riders to his decision and have them meet Scott in a few hours.

 _A Few Hours Later…_ Scott was unloading a cannon that Stoick had purchased for a reasonable sum of gold at the docks when the riders, the twins strangely without a hangover (probably due to their constant head injuries), met him, all in a great mood.

"Captain Scott!" shouted Hiccup

"Ah! Yer here!" shouted Scott

When all the riders came closer he said "Now, before we even think o' settin sail, we're goin to have you do some practice on ship and shore, make sure yer good and ready."

All the riders nodded and Scott said "First things first, are ye goin to want yer dragons to come with ya?"

Hiccup said "Of course!" as if it was a stupid question to ask

"Right then, goin to have me men make room on ship for them." said Scott, hailing two men and telling them to go and have the crew start prepping the hold.

"Next, we'll be goin over what each of our officers do."

"Alright" said Hiccup

"I be the Captain, that one bein self explanatory. Abigale be me second in command, that be meanin if I go down or leave for shore ya'll be listenin to her." Said Scott

The riders nodded and Scott went through the other four officers, and by pure chance left Diego for last.

"Alright, but what does Diego do?" asked Astrid

"Father Campeche be attendin to our spiritual affairs" replied Scott

"Spiritual?" asked Fishlegs

"He be makin sure we don't all go to Legion and stay within Theus's good graces" said Scott

"I thought Theus was just part of your ship's name?" said Hiccup

"What's Legion?" asked Astrid

Scott looked at them hard, trying to ascertain whether they were pulling his leg or genuinely confused, and he decided on the latter.

"Theus be our god, the Vactine church be sayin for hundreds o' years that he be the only god, if ye be worshipin others than we won't have a problem, but do try to not trouble Father Campeche that much. Ye might also be wantin to hide the fact from some people we meet in ports, for they might not be as understandin as I." said Scott

"Alright, one god." Said Hiccup trying to wrap his mind around it, I mean One god! That's nuts!

"Anywho" says Scott, breaking Hiccup out of his reverie "We gots to be showin the ropes. Follow me…"

Scott walked over to the cannon that Stoick had purchased; while they were talking his crew had set it up for training purposes.

"Alright, ye all need to watch closely as I load this here cannon." Said Scott

They all nodded.

Scott went through the loading drill procedure, first he swabbed the bore, then he loaded a paper sack of powder and a cannon ball, poured some gunpowder on the touch-hole and said "Stand back", then he placed the lit linstock on the powder and the cannon gave its massive report.

"Now ye all try, in pairs" said Scott

Hiccup looked nervous but he and Astrid stepped forward, and followed Scott's procedure slowly, until at last they finished and Hiccup stepped back while Astrid fired the cannon.

Snotlout and Fishlegs did equally well, a bit slower than Hiccup and Astrid though.

Heather tried with Astrid, and they made pretty good time.

Scott had to stop the twins halfway through as they tried to load five cartridges of powder, he made a note NOT to put them on a gun crew.

Scott spent most of the rest of the day going through rigging procedures, firing and taking care of small arms, how to walk on a pitching deck, and basic navigation.

At the end of the day Scott looked to his semi-exhausted new crewmembers and said "Well, ye are all doin a fine job! Gather what ye'll bring with ye and we'll se ya in the mornin, we set said at noon."

This seemed to give the riders a second wind and they all smiled and walked back to their home, to pack the trunks Scott had given them for clothes and personal possessions, and to get their last night's rest on land for a while…


	5. Chapter 5: Preparations

Hiccup barely slept that night, though he still got enough shut-eye to not be shambling on the dock the nest morning. Leaving Toothless to sleep, he met the other riders as Earl brought up a cart to drag their things down to the ship.

They all loaded their trunks onto the cart and Earl gave them a nod and said "Capt'n's waitn' for ya."

They all walked down to the docks and found Captain Scott waiting for them next to a longboat, the dawn reflecting on the water and illuminating the ship in the distance.

"Well, let's be gettin move on!" shouts Scott

They all climbed in the longboat, Earl would bring their things in a separate longboat, and they pushed off towards the _Grace_.

They boarded the ship and immediately were greeted by Abigale "Well welcome aboard mateys!" she said

Scott finally clambered on deck and stood next to Abigale, then he said "Time to give all ye yer arms and assignments"

Fishlegs smiled then remembered something and said "We forgot the dragons!"

Scott waved a hand and said "We'll get them closer to sailin' hour, ye all still have to say goodbye to yer folks."

This placated them all "Alright, time fer yer assignments." Said Scott "Hiccup, yer me assistant navigator; Astrid, yer on lookout; Fishlegs, fer the moment I want ye to keep those Drachen from burnin down the ship; Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, yer on riggin duty; and Mrs. Heather's gonna be in the sickbay. Any questions?"

Adrian came over and then passed out a pistol and shot to each dragon rider, along with a horn of powder, and handed each a sailor's cutlass. Hiccup was last in line to receive his weaponry, and when Adrian saw he had brought his Gronkle-iron shield he stopped dead, then began to shake visibly.

The riders backed away from Hiccup and Adrian and Captain Scott was about to say something when Adrian lunged forward and grabbed the shield, pried it from Hiccup's grasp and looked ready to beat him with it, a maniacal gleam in his eye.

Before any of the riders could intervene Scott shouted "Mr. Damaske! What in Legion's tights are ye' doin!"

Adrian turned to Scott and shouted "This is DRACHENEISEN!" he panted for moment than shouted "This was all stolen from my people during the War of the Cross! Why I ought'a!"

"What's Dracheneisen?" asked Hiccup, getting to his feet, looking more concerned than anything else.

Adrian turned around and Hiccup could see a vein pulsing unhealthily in his forehead as his left eye twitched uncontrollably.

Before Adrian could do or say anything else Scott turned him around and smacked him across the face. Adrian seemed to come back to his senses after that and shook his head for a few moments, then looked at Hiccup no longer with mania, now simply with suspicion.

"Where did you get this?" asked Adrian, his voice level and calm

"One of our Dragon species, the Gronkle, can regurgitate it when fed certain kinds of rocks." Fishlegs answered.

Adrian reddened and mumbled "Sorry" before quickly handing the shield off to Hiccup and walking briskly over to the stairs leading to the Gun Deck, and practically vaulting down the steps.

"What in Thor's underwear was that all about!?" asked Astrid

Scott signed and said "Adrian is from a country called Eisen, and their national treasures were all made of a metal called Dracheneisen, which means 'Dragon Iron'. He thought that this here was a stolen heirloom of his people. Ya see, most of Eisen's Dracheneisen was stolen during the War of the Cross, and now it's practically priceless."

"Alright" conceded Hiccup but he then asked "But why did he go, well… crazy on me like that?"

"Adrian's been through a lot, I trust that man with my life… but, he's seen things that no man should ever see, and he's got the scars to prove it… inside and out." answered Scott, then finished with "Now that's all I'll tell ye, as it not bein' me place to say another word about it."

 _Ten minutes later…_ Some of Scott's appointments were proving to be good ones, others… not so much.

 _Hiccup…_ "So Earl, how do you um, figure out where to go?" asked Hiccup

"Well" Earl began "Firstly at noon we use this littl' contraption" Earl pulled out what any sailor worth is salt would recognize as a Sextant "to find how far the sun is above the horizon, then we cross reference the number that this arm shows with our Waggoner, um… book of maps, and it tells us our latitude, or how far north we are, after that we measure our speed and use that, and how long we've been sailin' to find out our longitude, or how far East-West we are. Now ye get what I'm tellin'…"

Hiccup was still occupied with the Sextant, poking and prodding, this being the finest piece of ingenuity that he'd ever seen. Earl sighed and, figuring he'd be at it for a few more minutes, went to get the map of The Trade Sea's waggoner from his bunk…

 _Astrid…_ Astrid was breathing great gasps as she finally made it into the Crow's nest, as soon as she was inside she made the mistake of looking down.

"Okay, don't look down, don't look down" Astrid whispered, she wasn't afraid of heights when she had a pair of wings beneath her, but now… maybe a little bit.

"Lady Astrid!" she heard a voice from below yell for her, so she braced herself and looked over the side, it was Abigale.

"Ye left yer spyglass down here!" Abigale shouted

Astrid slapped a hand to her face, and began the climb back down…

 _Fishlegs…_ "Um, let's see… no, no this is too close to the hay, see if Hookfang snores then it'll all go up in flames. You might also want to reinforce this column, looks like if Meatlug hit it then it'd collapse." Said Fishlegs with a very scholarly tone.

The six sailors helping him sighed; this was going to be one long shift…

 _Heather…_ "So, what should I do first?" asked Heather of what seemed to be the most senior sailor in the sickbay.

"Well, first I think ye should check on ol' Herbert, broke is' leg last week, see if it got infected."

"Thanks" said Heather "Um, which one's Herbert?"

The sailor raised a saw from where he was washing off some dried on blood, and pointed to a sailor sitting in a box with a leg resting on several pillows, apparently reading some book.

Heather quickly scampered over to his bedside and said "Um, Mr. Herbert? I need to check your leg for infection."

The Sailor sighed and shifted his leg so it would be easier for her. She unwrapped the dressing and a foul, medicinal stench assailed her nostrils, she coughed once and then took another look, it seemed to be healing well. So she nodded and went to tell the head sailor about her progress…

 _Snotlout…_ Snotlout was currently hanging eight feet above the deck by his ankle, wrapped in a rope. He wasn't sure if this was the twins doing, but if not then he'd blame Loki.

Adrian walked by and, in pure annoyance, pulled out his pistol and shot clean through the rope holding Snotlout up by his ankle, Snotlout then falling eight feet to the deck and landing in a barrel of salted fish…

 _Ruff and Tuff_ … The twins seemed natural at their job, they scuttled like Spider-monkeys up the rigging and actually didn't make much a mess of it, hmm, maybe that Rum had affected them after all?


	6. Chapter 6: Settin Sail!

**Note about the world of 7** **th** **Sea:** **This is a world of magic and monsters, we have different kinds of Sorcery for almost each country, monsters on land and at sea, the ruins of the mysterious pre-human Syrneth cultures. Anyone who is unclear on what fantasy countries parallel the ones in our world, please feel free to PM me!**

 **P.S. I will try my darndest to update** ** _Rebels of the Ring_** **soon!**

 _Half-an-hour to departure, Grace of Theus_ … Swab, Swab, Swab, Swab, Sing that Swaby song!" sang Phil, who was balanced on the capstan while his mates swabbed to the tune he played out on his concertina (accordion), among the swaby's was Astrid and Hiccup, Astrid had been relieved from the Crow's nest and Hiccup had finished his first navigational lesson and were both now lending a hand to swabbing the decks.

Captain Scott came out of his cabin and saw one of the native Longboats pulling up aside _The Grace_. He yelled "Aye! Someone toss a rope, we have visitors!"

Hiccup and Astrid rushed to obey and to their surprise Stoick and Gobber climbed the rope and thudded onto the deck.

"Dad?" asked Hiccup "What're you doing here?"

"Just come to make sure that ye all have what yer needin for this little' adventure of yours." Answered Stoick.

"I think we've got everything" Hiccup said and the pulled a list out of his flight suit "yep…clothes, weapons, books, Dragon Nip… yep, we've got everything!"

"Well, then I suppose yer goin to come ashore to say goodbye and grab the dragons, right?" asked Stoick

"Well, as it's about time we gets goin, I'd say that that is a fine idea." Interjected Scott, then he yelled "Earl!"

Earl came up from below and said "Yes, Captn'!"

"Gather a couple of sailors and take the Drachen Riders ashore to get their Drachen, Then ye come back, they'll be flyin' to the ship" said Scott

 _Ashore…_ Now Astrid" said Mrs. Hofferson "Make sure you keep your axe nice and cleaned, and don't over-polish the shaft again…"

"Mom, I know" said Astrid, rolling her eyes

The other riders were getting last minute pep-talks like hers before hugging their loved ones and hopping up on their Dragons. Heather was already on her Dragon.

"Everybody ready?!" shouted Hiccup

The riders looked behind them as the whole of Berk waved, then they shot off into the sky.

A minute later they landed on-deck and dismounted.

"Captain Scott, we're all here." Said Hiccup

"Great!" said Scott, then shouting "Raise anchor! Unfurl the sails! We head for Carleon!"

Hiccup and the other riders, led by Abigale, took their Dragons down through the ship until they reached an area of the hold that had been cleared for the dragons.

"Lady Abigale" said Astrid "Why do we put the dragons in the bottom of the ship?"

Abigale laughed and said "That's so they don't make the ship top-heavy and keel us over in rotten weather."

 _When the Riders were back on deck_ … Alright" said Captain Scott "We're movin at a fine clip, so me, Adrian, and Angelina are gonna teach you about how we fight in the mainland."

"You fight different?" asked Astrid

"Aye" said Scott "Ye see that thin sword at Angelina's hip" Scott pointed to the rapier that Angelina had "That's the main weapon that people use to settle disputes."

Astrid and the others watched as Angelina withdrew her sword, that thing looked less like a sword and more like a big sewing needle!

They all walked forward, confused, Angelina pressed into Astrid's hands, she tested the edge of the blade "It's not even sharp!" she exclaimed

"Aye" said Scott "That's a thrustin' sword, meant to poke into yer opponent, fast and light, that's how we do things."

This was a large learning curve for the riders, for whom brute force and not finesse was usually the order of the day in battle.

Scott then paired up Hiccup and Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs, Heather and Ruff and Tuff, and then assigned each group to either himself, Adrian, or Angelina.

They spent the next six hours practicing with the new kinds of swords, finally stopping when the dinner bell rang.

"Alright!" Scott shouted, after hearing a bell ring "Enough practice fer today!"

He then led the Riders down to the mess, where the Riders found an unoccupied table and sent Snotlout up to get the food.

When he came back they were surprised of what the food consisted of a rock-hard biscut, hard cheese, and gag-inducing- salted meat.

Right before Hiccup bit into the hardtack and broke his jaw, one of the other sailors grabbed his arm, though not in a confrontational way, and said "Yer new here, ye soak the biscuit in yer rum first, otherwise ye'll break yer teeth…oh, and look out for the bugs in the older biscuits."

Hiccup and the others took delicate time making sure their biscuits were bug free, and Fishlegs didn't eat his altogether. Then they soaked them in the Rum they had been given and ate rather slowly, as the food wasn't really that good.

Later that night they all climbed into their hammocks, gentlemen fore and lady's aft, and let the rocking of the ship and the sound of the sea lull them to sleep.

Another adventure is about to begin!

(Not the End!)


	7. Chapter 7: Adrian's Tale (Drachen Issue)

**Revised because the first version sucked. :)**

Their first week at sea taught the riders a lot, unfortunately, they also learned that they all got seasick.

"'Ere" said the sailor running the sickbay on the day they finally told Captain Scott about getting seasick "Drink this, it'll make ye right."

Each of the riders eagerly quaffed down the medicine, which tasted terrible, now that you mention it.

Within an hour they were back to helping out the crew, working their assigned posts, and increasingly noticing Adrian's sour mood towards them.

 _Sixth Day at Sea_ … As Hiccup and Astrid climbed the stairs to the main deck that morning they could hear an argument taking place, peeking out between two barrels they saw Adrian and Captain Scott arguing.

"But Captain, they're Drachen! You shouldn't have them onboard!" shouts Adrian

"I'm well aware of that Adrian, but these un's seem to mean no harm." Said Scott

"But Captain…"

"No, Adrian. I've heard enough, they're me crew now and that's final!"

Adrian walked off with a huff, and as he passed and saw the two Dragon Riders he gave them a venomous glare.

Hiccup and Astrid decided that they had to convince Adrian somehow that the Dragons meant him no harm.

So, the next day, when Adrian was in the hold checking for leaks (and rats) they joined him…

"What'd you two want?" said Adrian

"Captain Scott ordered us to help check for leaks with you" said Astrid

"Fine!" Adrian said, throwing up his hands in exasperation

"Adrian" said Hiccup, a few minutes later

"Hmm…" said Adrian

"You know, the Dragons weren't always our friends." Said Hiccup

Adrian looked up, his features hardened, and said "Oh really?"

"Yep" said Hiccup "Five years ago we were killing them, they raided our village at night and we killed as many as we could."

This story seemed to catch Adrian's interest "Then how'd you make friends with the beasts?" he said

"Well" said Hiccup "If you look at Toothless you'll see one tailfin is ripped off, that happened when I shot him down. After that I tried to kill him, and well, he just looked so scared, then I freed him."

"He could'av killed ya." Said Adrian

"But he didn't. Then I began to train him, I made him a prosthetic tail fin and we found out that the dragons only raided our village because they were enslaved by a dragon bigger than this ship. Our tribe assaulted the dragon and me and Toothless killed her, we shot a plasma blast into her throat and she exploded. I lost my leg in the inferno, Toothless using his wings to shield me from the flames. They've been our friends ever since." finished Hiccup

Adrian was silent for a minute, and finally said "I'll admit that your Drachen don't look like the one we saw in Eisen, that that Legion dammed Vampir rode!"

"Vampir?" asked Astrid, flummoxed

Adrian sighed "Well, you've told me your story, it's only fair I tell you mine."

Hiccup and Astrid sat on a pair of upended barrels and waited.

"It started five years ago, in The Walder…

 _Five years ago_ … Adrian was traveling with a family traveling from Freiburg to Stutzung, they had just bedded down for the night when five Revenants loped out of the darkness an attacked them, behind them waited a dark figure astride a black stallion.

Adrian, trained by his father, who was a veteran of the War of the Cross, was being attacked by two, and just as he managed to run his saber through the chest of the bigger one he heard a piercing scream.

He turned about to see the father of the family, William, impaled on the claw of a revenant, who was in turn impaled on William's sword. Which happened first, Adrian never found out.

However, that wasn't what made William's wife scream, the dark figure on the stallion had waltzed into the clearing and grabbed their daughter Ramona by the throat. He was a Vampir, you could tell by the bloodless pallor of its skin and the sharp fangs.

Adrian launched himself at the creature, only to be awakened an hour later by William's wife, who had managed to limp away as the Vampir kidnapped her daughter. Then and there Adrian vowed to her to kill the creature and rescue Ramona.

 _Five months later_ … Adrian was in shambles, he knew where Ramona was, but had no ability to assault Castle Drachen. It was here, in a seedy tavern in Adel, that Captain Scott found Adrian and offered his crew and ship to killing the undead horrors of Castle Drachen.

However when they stormed the castle, by way of a underground passage that an escaped slave had told them of with his dying words, they found the Vampir riding not a stallion, but a Drachen!

Only a lucky shot from a commandeered fortress cannon managed to fell the beast after it killed Scott's Master-at-Arms, and several other crewmembers. Adrian then chased the Vampir into its crumbling castle and staked it a hairsbreadth away from sucking Ramona dry.

 _Present Day_ … and after I returned her to her mother I joined Scott's crew, in payment for their help." finished Adrian.

Hiccup and Astrid were both silent, Hiccup then eventually saying "I'm sorry, but… well, I don't know, maybe that Vampir took over the Dragon's mind, we saw it with the big dragon we called the Red Death. Maybe it was just as much a slave as the man who told you about the underground passage."

"I guess, but still… it's hard to forget." Said Adrian

Hiccup smiled and said "We could help you with that"

Next thing Adrian knew he was sitting behind Hiccup on Toothless as they shot into the sky, by the time of landing Adrian was smiling, something that when Captain Scott saw it he said that he hadn't seen Adrian do since he joined the crew.

So that night, as Hiccup slipped into his hammock he felt a nudge on his shoulder, and looked over to see Adrian, who then whispered "Thank you"

Hiccup just smiled and nodded, before rolling over and falling asleep

As Adrian lay in his own hammock he finally fell asleep, happy, and at peace with his troubled past…


	8. Chapter 8: Battle with the Sea Dog's

**I'm baaaaackkkk! Really, sorry for the time between updates but life's been hectic, this story is not dead just required some TLC. So read at you're leisure!**

"Sail ho!" shouted the sailor in the Crow's nest

Captain Scott looked through his spyglass, and Hiccup through the one he brought from Berk.

"It's the _Black Dawn_!" shouts Scott

"Berek's ship!?" says Abigale

"Aye" says Scott, then shouts "Turn to larboard and furl the sails! Weigh anchor!"

Within minutes the other ship, evidently called the _Black Dawn_ , was pulled up alongside the _Grace of Theus_ , and a man walked across a large plank spanning the distance between the two ships onto the _Grace_.

"Jeremiah Berek" said Captain Scott

"Scott O'Dunhan" said the man called Berek

Both looked at each other for a long moment, and the riders (who had all come on deck by now) wondered who would slug the other first. Then they both laughed and threw their arms around the other.

"How's ya doin' me friend?!" said Scott shaking Berek's hand

"Aye, I be doin' fine! You?" says Berek

"Fine! Oy, Rider's! Come ere' and meet the leader o' the Queen's _Sea Dogs_ , one Mr. Jeremiah Berek!" shouts Scott, looking at the riders.

They all stepped forward and Capt. Berek quickly shook hands with all of them, looking over them his brow furrowed and he turned to Scott, "A bit young aren't they Dunhan? An why ye call them 'Riders'"

"Aye, they are a wee bit on the young side" conceded Scott "But they been through lots, why they proved it to me! I also got somthin' I be wantin to show Queen Elaine, you get a sneak peek!"

"Master Hiccup" Scott said while turning to Hiccup "I believe that Mt. Berek will be most interested in what we have in the hold." Scot winked, and Hiccup seemed to get the message.

"Sure! Let's go!" said Hiccup, and led Scott, Abigale, and Berek into the bowels of the ship.

 _Right outside the "Drachen Pens"_ … Now be sure not to scare them, they're a bit seasick." said Hiccup

"Who's 'them'?" asked Berek

Hiccup merely smiled and threw open the door

"Why be stilled me Theus-dammed heart!" says Berek in wonder, as Toothless pops his head out and nuzzles Hiccup affectionately.

Scott laughs as Berek turns several varying shades of white, then he says "Aye, me new crew ride em'…"

"There's more than one?!" shouts Berek

Hiccup moves into the room and Berek cautiously follows, then everyone hears him shout "By the O'Bannon's beard!"

A moment later the other riders and Scott and Abigale follow Berek in and see that he has turned several shades whiter still.

Scott is about to comment on the Dragons when the entire ship shudders, and the sound of smashing wood can be heard from above.

"What in Theus name!?" shouts Scott

Adrian barrels into the room with a small laceration on his brow and yells "Castilian Galleon off the starboard, sir! Came out of a fog bank!"

"Blasted Inquisition-lovin'…" mutters Abigale furiously

Scott and Berek have both already ran out of the room and were charging back to the deck; Scott's voice being heard shouting "Man the guns! Prepare to repel boarders! Keep tha' powder dry!"

The riders, Abigale, Adrian, and Toothless (as he was the only Dragon who could use the door and not the deck hatches) sprint up the stairs and emerge on-deck…

Chaos, complete unadulterated chaos. There was a massive ship off the right-hand side of _The Grace_ and a pall of gun-smoke was hanging in the air.

Abigale and Adrian rushed into the fray, helping a couple of Seamen struggling to keep a group of yellow coated boarders from getting onto the deck.

As Adrian turned around and gutted one of the boarders, he spied the Dragon Riders doing nothing.

"Well, ye waiting for an invitation?!" he roared

Hiccup shook his head and led the riders right into the thick of combat, no one noticed Toothless stick his head up out of the hatch to the lower decks…

Toothless saw a massive fight going on around him and then saw a sailor beat hiccup to the ground with an especially savage blow to Hiccup's cutlass. Toothless leapt up and landed over Hiccup protectively, growling at the Castilian sailor.

The sailor screamed and leapt overboard.

Hiccup clambered to his feet, looked at Toothless and said, "Thanks Bud!"

Then Hiccup heard a scream, Astrid had been knocked to the ground in a similar manner to him, and a Sailor with a half-pike (spear) was standing over her, ready to ram it into her abdomen.

Without thinking Hiccup whipped out his pistol, cocked it, and fired straight into the sailor's backside.

A muffled groan followed the bang of the shot and the sailor fell, dead.

Hiccup froze, he had never taken anyone's life before and was in shock.

Next thing he knew Adrian had tackled him, just before a grapeshot volley scythed through where he had been standing.

Adrian looked furious, then noticed Hiccup's heavy breathing and glassy eyes. He had seen this before with other new recruits, so he pushed Hiccup under Toothless and said, "Guard him" to the Dragon, who nodded.

Scott, meanwhile, was dueling the Castilian Captain…

"You'll never win, me amigo!" shouts the Captain

"I'm a pirate! I'll cheat!" shouts Scott

Then he ducks and Adrian catches the Captain with a blast from a blunderbuss, suddenly the captain is very, very dead…

With that the three remaining Castilians lose heart and surrender, Scott orders them placed in a dingy with three pistols, each with a shot, and food and water for two weeks, you get the idea why…

Scott then sees the majority of his crew getting their bearings, and then see's Astrid crawling over to Hiccup who is being guarded by Toothless.

Alarmed, Scott rushes over to Toothless who lets him look at his rider, who was now pale and unresponsive.

"Mr. Hiccup, ye alright?" asks Scott

Adrian, who is nursing a fractured arm, comes over and says "Capt'n, saw him shoot a sailor, me thinks it was his first time."

Scott gets the message, he and Astrid lift Hiccup up by his armpits and bring him below deck to his bunk, they lay him down and Astrid decides to sit with him and wait till he comes too.

Back on deck Scott talks with Berek, their ships remarkably took little damage and they decided to part ways, Berek said he had a Montagine tradesmen to "catch up with", while Scott ordered the unfurling of the sails as they continued to Avalon…


	9. Chapter 9: Spirits and Storms

Scott was called back to help carry plunder from the Castilian Galleon that they'd fought over to the _Grace_ , by the time he went back to check on Hiccup, he was awake.

Scott rounded a bulkhead and heard "but I killed him, Astrid, I killed him…"

"Oh boy" Scott mumbled, and rounded the corner to find Hiccup laying dispirited in his Bunk while Astrid rubbed his hand that was laying slack as a windless sail.

"Master Hiccup, how's ya doin?" asked Scott

Astrid looked at him and shook her head, Hiccup didn't respond.

"Master Hiccup, uh…" for once Scott could think of nothing to say, how do you tell a devout pacifist that his first kill shouldn't traumatize him?

"Uh… I'm sorry that ye feel so lousy, I'd not expect ye to feel all jolly at this, but…uh, maybe I'll send father Campeche over, e' can talk to ye about it in a more spiritural ( _pronounced_ ; spirit-ur-al) context." said Scott

Suddenly a small crate fell off of another, larger, crate, seemingly out of nowhere, capturing the attention of the riders.

"Wonder why that fell?" asked Astrid idly

"Eh, probably ol' Jack" said Scott, with a dismissive wave of his hand

"But I didn't see anyone tip it over" said Hiccup, his brain subconsciously latching onto anything to take his mind off the death he caused.

"Yeah, Jack's our friendly shipboard ghost…" Scott said, trailing off at the end because of the rider's reaction.

The two riders with them nearly jumped out of their pants "Ghost!" they yelled in sync.

"Yeah, he's the spirit of some sailor, died on this ere' ship before we stole, er… _acquired_ it. He's harmless though, sometimes brings me rum at night!" said Scott

"Wait, how do you know it's a ghost?" said Hiccup, now thinking it through

"Well, seein a floatin bottle o' rum commin towards ye is a pretty good sign." Said Scott, as though it were quite obvious.

"You sure you hadn't drank too much that night?" asked Astrid

"Are ye callin yer captain a drunkard, lass?" asked Scott fixing a stern stare on the pair

"Uh, no… just wonder-" said Astrid quickly, only to be cut off by a laugh from Captain Scott.

"Ah, I'm just a' pullin yer leg, no I was completely sober that there night." said Scott

With all the commotion about the ghost, Hiccup forgot to be in a funk about his first killing and soon he was being led by Astrid to the deck.

"Hey Hiccup" said Ruff as Hiccup and Astrid came over to the other riders.

"You look better" observed Fishlegs

"Yeah" said Snotlout, who quickly added "um, as if I cared!"

Hiccup smiled, then said "Yeah… you know, Captain Scott says there's a ghost on this ship, me and Astrid might have seen it!"

Fishlegs began laughing "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup! You gullible soul! You know there's no such thing as…"

Hiccup tapped Fishlegs on the shoulder, and pointed behind him. Fishlegs turned around to see a rum bottle floating in mid-air, cork pointed towards him, as though an invisible someone were offering him a drink.

Fishlegs emitted a high-pitched shriek so loud that several of the sailors looked up, then seeing it to only be Jack, went back to work.

Fishlegs eyes began to roll back into is skull, but a hand came over and slapped the back of his head, knocking his senses back into him.

Everyone turned around to see Adrian scowling at the rum bottle "Jack! I've told you a dozen times! Stop terrifying the new sailors that way!"

The bottle bobs as though the spirit was shaking his non-shoulders, then the cork was ripped out of the bottle, discarded and the bottle turned upside down, the drink vanishing into thin air, when the bottle was empty it floated over to a crate where it was gently put down, then obnoxiously loud footsteps were heard walking away, as though someone were walking by slapping their non-feet on the deck on-purpose.

Adrian turned away cursing to himself as the riders began to wonder again what they'd gotten themselves into.

Suddenly, Phil, who was atop the Crow's nest, shouted "Storm ho!", and a collective groan passed over the ship.

Angelina, who was the commanding officer on deck that day, looked over to the Dragon Riders and yelled "Go get the Captain and Earl, maybe they can chart a course around it!"

Hiccup nodded and dragged Astrid with him as they ran below deck, looking for Scott and Earl.

Scott was quickly found checking on the status of the cannons, when told of the storm approaching he bolted up toward the deck, Earl took a little longer to find, though he was finally cornered in his cabin, when told of the storm he performed similarly to Scott.

When Astrid and Hiccup made it back on deck the place was alive with commotion, shouts made any communication further than a meter or two impossible, Hiccup and Astrid had to yell to each other to even get heard at that distance.

After a minute the pair found their way to Scott and Earl, on the poop deck with a bunch of charts, as they arrived they heard Earl sigh and say "There's no way around er' Captain, we'll take a direct hit."

"Damn" said Scott, then ran over to the railing and stairs to the lower deck and he belted out "BE QUIET!"

The ship silenced itself, then, with all eyes on him, Scott yelled "We're going to take a direct hit from that storm, everyone, storm protocol.

"Fasten down the hatches" was heard from one direction,

"Reef them sails" came from another,

"Get the bilge pumps a-workin'" came from a third direction, as the Riders were separated and found themselves scrambling with different jobs to prepare for the coming storm

Hiccup was tying down cargo; Snotlout was on the bilge pump crew alongside Ruff and Tuff; Astrid was helping reef the sails, even with her fear of heights; Fishlegs was fastening the cannons to the gun-ports so they wouldn't roll around; and Heather was at work helping secure the sickbay.

As the storm approached the ship became more storm-ready, till about ten minutes before it hit, and a light drizzle was already coming down, Scott ordered everyone below deck, and the Dragon Riders to keep the Dragons as calm as possible.

So, they all rode out the night in harrowing style, every creak of the timbers made them think that something might just give way. This, naturally, made sleep barely possible, though they managed it.

When Scott came down in the morning, the storm was still raging mind you, he found Astrid asleep next to Stormfly, Hiccup enveloped by Toothless, Meatlug curled up near Fishlegs, Snotlout being kept warm by Hookfang, Windshear's paw over Heather… and twins hanging from a beam directly over Barf & Belch's heads.

Scott shook his head with a bemused smile and closed the door, willing to let them sleep a little longer as the ship was holding up remarkably well, and the crew was mostly idle…

Three days, the storm lasted three days. Finally, it ended and on the morning of the fifth day everyone emerged from below deck and cheered as the sun rose unobscured by clouds, though now they had a pressing question…where were they?


End file.
